I’m not quite sure why people would opt to pay for blog software like MovableType or TypePad. My guess is that paid blogging companies have a hook into their current user base and people continue to pay each month. But why?

Lets start with TypePad. TypePad starts at $4.95 a month and increases to 14.95 a month. For the basic package, you get one user, one blog, no access to the blog template, no money making ads (for you), no domain name, no real ownership. You’re just renting so you just get the basics. 100Mb of space 2GB of bandwidth is pretty good for a blog but not worth paying for. The Pro account gets more features, transfer and space, but is it worth the price?

For as little as $25 a year you can get shared hosting with 75Mb of space and 3GB of bandwidth. Throw in a domain name for around $9.99 and free Wordpress blogging software and you’re good to go. Costs less and you have all the features you could ever want including multiple users, 100% template access and personalized email address’ since you have a real hosting account.